I turned into the doorway of my hotel and caught a look at the potential federal Liberal candidate from a British Columbia riding (Justin Trudeau is the party’s leader; Braeden Caley is the president of its B.C. wing). He looked youngish, earnest and impeccably scrubbed. And in his intention to run for the Liberals in the 2015 election, he has a lot of company.

The biennial convention of the Liberal party in Montreal was the first important Liberal event I’d attended in two years. After the creepy forced bonhomie of the party’s 2012 Ottawa convention, back when Bob Rae was the party’s interim leader and Liberals were quarrelling about whether he should stick around, I used my book-writing duties as a handy excuse to skip all Liberal leadership debates and the final event last April where Trudeau became the leader on the first ballot. But almost a year later, the Liberals consistently lead in national polls, so I thought I should catch up with them.

The most striking thing about the weekend wasn’t anything Trudeau did. It was the truly extraordinary number of Liberals I met who are planning to seek their party’s nomination as 2015 election candidates.

A few played high-profile roles at the convention. Andrew Leslie, who used to command the army. William Morneau, who runs the country’s largest human-resources firm. Chima Nkemdirim, chief of staff to Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. Jim Carr, who ran the Manitoba Business Council.

I met half a dozen others and had little trouble coming up with the names of dozens more. In many cases they’ll have to beat other Liberals before they get to run as candidates. In Ville-Marie in downtown Montreal, Liberal organizer Brigitte Legault is running against two prominent lawyers, Marc Miller and Bernard Amyot, for the nomination. Amyot is a former president of the Canadian Bar Association. Jean Chrétien had a fundraiser for him. According to Amyot, the former PM later told him, “T’es ben mieux de gagner, tabarnak.” It translates as, “You had better win now, for goodness’ sake.” More or less.

Of course every party always finds candidates to run in almost every riding, but it’s usually much more of a last-minute rush. I’ve never seen this much candidate activity among Liberals this long before an election. For a decade, it’s been much easier to find Liberals sitting back, wishing somebody in Ottawa would fix the party. Now a generation of Liberals is jumping in.

They must hope there will be water in the pool when they land. Enthusiasm is great, but New Democrats and Conservatives are enthusiastic too, and in the real world, elected members of those parties still have Liberals far outnumbered. I haven’t seen Liberals this excited since 1993. But they went into that election with more than twice as many seats as Trudeau will, against a governing party half as popular as Stephen Harper’s is today. Chrétien held nine different ministerial portfolios in previous governments. Trudeau taped a talk show before the Montreal convention and couldn’t figure out when would be the right time to make a hockey joke. He picked the moment he was asked to comment about the situation in Ukraine. After the show aired on Sunday he spent Monday watching his MPs on TV insist he had nothing to apologize for. And he spent Tuesday apologizing to assorted Ukrainians.

The Liberal weekend in Montreal was a promising moment surrounded by sharks. The moment was Trudeau’s keynote speech on Saturday afternoon. He was poised, understated, often funny. The crowd loved it. He built his speech around the economic plight of an imaginary Montreal woman, Nathalie. Economists spent the next few days debating whether Nathalie’s plight was made up, too. This would land Trudeau’s speech squarely in a great tradition. His father won the 1974 campaign by campaigning against wage and price controls he later introduced. Chrétien in 1993 promised to scrap the GST. Harper ran in 2006 against a congeries of straw men: income-trust taxation, health care wait times, an appointed Senate and the “?scal imbalance.”

But while shaky logic and a highly approximate command of the facts can clearly help you win a Canadian election, they offer no guarantee. You also need some message discipline and a bit of luck. The Liberals remain short on the former at least.

Trudeau recruited Andrew Leslie to beef up the Liberals’ credibility on military issues. A week before the convention, news leaked of Leslie’s $72,000 relocation settlement for an in-town move after he retired from the military. Somebody decided to use Leslie’s convention speech as a chance to reveal that the Conservatives had talked to him about running for them, before he decided to advise Trudeau. This raised a lot of questions, which Leslie spectacularly couldn’t answer during an endless press conference after his speech. Leslie’s job was to raise questions about Harper’s competence on military procurement and veterans’ benefits. He ended up raising questions about Andrew Leslie’s job search.

Meanwhile the convention passed resolutions calling for a future Liberal government to implement national strategies on transportation, energy, housing and more. There was much talk of an infrastructure deficit. Jim Carr, the Winnipeg candidate hopeful, put the “infrastructure deficit” at $7 billion for his city alone. Filling that hole, and treating the rest of the country equitably, would cost nearly half a trillion dollars. Of course Trudeau doesn’t plan to spend that much money. So Carr was just talking. Everybody at the convention was just talking, until Trudeau gave his speech and left without meeting reporters to take follow-up questions.

If he gets elected, he will have many of those shiny candidates helping him as newly elected MPs. Such big swings happen sometimes—in 1984 with Brian Mulroney, in 1993 with Chrétien, to some extent in 2011 when Jack Layton tripled the number of NDP MPs. Trudeau has defied gravity for close to a year. He has another year and a half to float up there before Canadians vote. Well, to float or fall.

Sort of like the Harper’s minions in the Con caucus, virtually all of whom are apparently denied by their “overlord” in the PMO the option of having an independent thought fleet through their brain cavities.

neuroticdog on March 1, 2014 at 12:35 pm

Sure dawg, keep dreaming.

Billy Bob on March 1, 2014 at 2:18 pm

More like a nightmare, watching those mindless bozos sleepwalk obediently through QP everyday.

Sort of like how the shiny pony can’t form one independent though all on his own.

JT dodges the press better than a deadbeat dad dodging the collection agents.

scott1945ish on March 2, 2014 at 1:42 am

Independent thought? Ask around the Liberal caucus whom he consulted about eliminating senators from caucus membership. Turns out Trudeau initiated that one all on his own. More actual senate reform than Harper has accomplished in 8 years in office.

As for dodging the press, you must be joking. If you want to know who’s more elusive, Trudeau or Harper, just ask any member of the parliamentary press corp. They’ll tell you it’s not even close. Trudeau often makes himself available to press scrums after daily QP. By comparison, Harper is little more than a myth among the media covering the Hill.

neuroticdog on March 2, 2014 at 11:49 am

“Senate reform”?

You actual BOUGHT that?

LMAO!!!!!

Anyone with even the slightest bit of intelligence saw through that fakery.

All JT did was cover his arse so when a senate inquiry into expenses is conducted, he can say they are NOT liberal senators.

Why did James Cowan, the lib senate leader openly state that they are STILL liberals?

Im not sure what papers your looking at that cheerleads Trudeau. Sun News are a division of the Conservative Party of Canada, bar none, they strictly tow the con line, but I don’t get where other papers cheerlead for Trudeau, as a matter of fact, most news outlets are just waiting for a shoe to drop on Trudeau and most of the media also still think Trudeau is a lightweight, but they don’t realize how much choppy waters Trudeau has already faced, they seem to forget that part of his life. No other party leader in this country has faced the amount of scrutiny that Trudeau has gone through since he became leader. Trudeau is resilient and stronger than the media give him credit for. He may fall and stumble at times, but Trudeaus resilience will stay in tact. Trudeaus genuine and honest approach to politics will carry momentum through choppy waters to the next election in 2015. It seems the cons have this huge fetish for Trudeaus hair, how much do the cons think it costs to keep Steves hair in tact and his toe nails clipped, about 10 million a year, and it still looks like a chia pet.

I used to vote P C before your guy(harper) hijacked the party, I blame some of that stupidity on McKay, and I believe if McKay had his time back, this would’ve never happened today. I thought a lot P Cs had high intellect value until the joined up with this bunch bone heads, they have dumbed down the countries way of thinking. I believe Trudeau is right, there are a lot of good conservative voters out there, its just their still trying to come to terms with how corrupt and unethical there party has become. That will change in 2015. And Trudeaus intellect is far more advanced than the dinosaurs, that’s running this country today, you included. real voters don’t listen to your snake oil and witches brews.

Root Canal I have to agree. The Conservatives calling Trudeau lacking in intelligence — the idiom “People that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” comes to mind.

Probity on February 28, 2014 at 7:53 pm

Did any Conservatives insult the entire population of the Ukraine?

scott1945ish on March 1, 2014 at 1:25 am

Yes they did(cons), they decided to do their own dog and pony roadshow of how our democracy works for them and not for the rest of the country. The stupid mistake the cons made was to leave the opposition parties in Canada out of a statement of trying to show the world we in Canada work together on nonpartisan basis when it comes to solutions to problems in the world, no your guys had to snub other members of parliament for political gain, but I think harper and the cons will take a bigger hit on this, than anything else they screwed up since they stole power in 2006, by bribing Chuck Cadman on his dying bed, and the support of the NDP under Jack Layton.

root canal on March 1, 2014 at 10:58 am

LMAO!!!

Wow, you will do ANYTHING to excuse your liberal masters.

Sad.

Do you see any other country in the world, making statements that include a second, or even in your case, THIRD PLACE political party?

Listen, Trudeau was breaking sweats climbing mountains, crossing deserts, moving overland meeting people throughout the world while your guy was still applying for a job in the mailroom at imperial oil. so as far as harper knowing anything about Foreign policy, the only thing he knew, was how to criticize Chretien for not going to war in Iraq, and we know how that all ended.

What does daddy’s little boy and his vacationing have to do with leadership and intelligence.

Do yourself a favour and read both party leaders biographies.

One is a part time teacher.
The other has Master’s degrees in economics.

Go ahead, and weasel your way out of those facts.

The only thing Chretien did was send the military, after years of cutbacks and lack of funding, into a war in Afghanistan, poorly equipped.
To such an embarassing degree that Harper had to spend billions fixing the problem and give our troops the kit they needed to survive.

Yeah, that wash SUCH a brave thing to do on Cretin’s part.
I’ll even mention the military personnel who DIED thanks to Chretin’s ignorance.

scott1945ish on March 2, 2014 at 1:35 am

Well, Harper has policy. And then there’s what he does. And seldom the twain do meet.

Today – the National Post – on the announcement of Trudeau’s new child said the name that has been chosen would lose him Jewish votes. If that’s cheer leading, I would hate to think what they might come up if they turn on him.

I consider myself centre right on the spectrum. I voted for the conservative candidate in my tony downtown Toronto neighbourhood (spoiler alert: she lost) in the last election, but now I’m ready for a change. Harper has just demonstrated an appalling lack of ethics and disregard for the principles democratic accountability. I can’t imagine voting for Trudeau though. He just doesn’t have the experience or the demonstrated intellect to convince me that he could lead a governing party and manage the affairs of a G8 nation. I like Thomas Mulcair, he has an impressive resume, but his party just represents the worst of socialist populism. So I imagine I’ll be parking my vote with an independent candidate or perhaps a Green candidate (they tend to be the most reasonable in the local debates). I wonder if my attitude is similar to other red tories/blue grits.

So you think a leader who takes 8 mortgages out on his house in a generation of his life, has an impressive resume. If he was reckless with his own money, then you think he would not be reckless with the treasury ? I doubt it !

Yes, I think he has an impressive professional resume. This is the first I’ve heard of this mortgage issue. I tend not to equate personal finances with public finances and I think comparisons are bizarre. I will further point out that I already noted I don’t support the policies advocated by Mulcair’s party.

So you think this resume:
Dad was former PM….mom former pothead…..me, former substitute teacher, current pot head, with a tendancy to say stupid things, but rake in thousands from charity speaking engagements……..
qualifies one to manage an economy reaching close to a trillion $’s?
Sorry….I’ll take the economist who doesn’t steal.

Oh, you mean the economist who appoints people who steal to the Senate, instructs his Chief of Staff to pay one of the Senators a bribe to shut up, and then directs his PMO to engage in a massive cover up, so no one can know about the fraud or the bribe?

You’re absolutely right, we certainly don’t want the guy who appointed both of those, Chretien, in either. However, last I heard he wasn’t running. Let me know when you’ve caught up to the current decade.

Thwim on March 1, 2014 at 3:59 pm

The current leader, is responsible for the people in his party.

Get back to me when you’ve caught up on that concept.

scott1945ish on March 2, 2014 at 1:28 am

I don’t think it is a wise strategy to attack and insult Margaret.
I think she has ended up in a pretty good place in the minds of the majority of Canadians.

I’m in much the same boat. I can’t see voting CPC as long as the current bunch hold the reins, but I think I’ll otherwise be paying close attention to the local candidates as well as watching to see who JT has on his team (a strong bench might make up for a weak captain as long as they play well as a team).

Nobody could have accused Ronald Reagan of being the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he could communicate and connect with folks, and was apparently smart enough to surround himself with competent people. So perhaps Trudea will be Canada’s Reagan. For the sake of the country I certainly hope so as JT has a very decent shot of being the next PM.

FWIW, I too am in a boat similar to Peter’s. I’m 95% certain I’ll be voting for the local candidate, not the party, in the next election.

Unfortunately, Peter….
Sometimes you need to vote for the party you think will do some good, or the least damage. Harper has made some poor choices (or forced to make poor choices by Opposition parties) but for the most part, he’s on the side of taxpayers (Gazeboo’s nothwithstanding) and isn’t a crook.
Trudeau is an airhead…..but very popular.
NDP…..you nailed it. Mulcair has the leadership….but he lacks the knowledge of an actual economy.

Someone’s looking for a new book subject…well, maybe not just yet? But I hope so; we could do with someone writing about Trudeau with the same degree of balanced praise/criticism you manage with Harper

I’m not sure you’re going to strike oil looking for a message consistency that matches SH or even JC. And in a way i hope not too. We could do with a bit of unscripted mayhem in Ottaw and even a tad of spontaniety after 8 years of a sometimes toxic brew of disciplined stupidity, mediocrity and often enough, barely guarded malice. Trudeau is going to be what he is [at least i hope so. Although the slipping out the back door worries me] A bit like as OB said, a liberal version of Ralph Klein[ i'll probably get shot if anyone on liberal.ca reads this] A bit of a lovable sometime bumbler and sometime savvy political gambler; but essentially someone that most of the public will forgive cuz he’s young, handsome and does know how to say sorry nicely eventually. I lived in AB during Ralph’s reign and never could figure out why Albertans didn’t throw him under the bus every single day. Instead they kept on forgiving him because he was a likable guy, and underneath the bluster a good guy really.[at least as good as politicians can be] I suspect Trudeau has the same thing going for him in addition to that family name. It amazes me how many partisan Trudeau haters never seem to grasp the fact that pet didn’t just stick around for 16 years just because he was smart or eventually got some good things done on national unity and the constitution. As Ron Graham pointed out, he had a facility for making people trust him even if they didn’t always like him[ hmmm might be true of SH too on his better days? Pity there are so few of them] that carried him over the rough patches.

Sadly towering intellect is valued much less in politics these days than celebrity; but pet’s boy isn’t so very different from him in some ways. Jeez, i wonder who might have helped to undermine the value of the public intellectual in this country over the last 30 odd years? More and more this Harper/Trudeau saga resembles one of the Baird’s[Bard's] plays…not sure which one though.

I think Trudeau’s direct personal appeal to our “neighbours” called the Conservative base who have welcomed him so warmly in town halls all across Canada has the Conservative Party, nowhere near the “base” going absolutely crazy.

Interesting article. Sounds like Trudeau is doing exactly what is needed- rebuilding the party. I’m not even worried about who wins the next election at this point. Before Trudeau the LPC were on the course to oblivion. Not any more.

That all is not yet perfect does not concern me. The fact Conservatives are clinging so desperately to each “gaffe”, not to mention their gross exaggeration of their seriousness, just gives me more confidence Trudeau was the right choice.

Notice: Your email may not yet have been verified. Please check your email, click the link to verify your address, and then submit your comment. If you can't find this email, access your profile editor to re-send the confirmation email. You must have a verified email to submit a comment. Once you have done so, check again.

Sign In / Sign Up

With your existing account from

With an email account

Commenters who signed up before June 26th, 2014 will have to reregister on our new, social-friendly login system. The good news? The process should only take a few minutes, and you're welcome to use the same email address.

Almost Done!

Please confirm the information below before signing up.

{* #socialRegistrationForm *}
{* socialRegistration_firstName *}
{* socialRegistration_lastName *}
{* socialRegistration_emailAddress *}
{* socialRegistration_displayName *}
By clicking "Create Account", I confirm that I have read and understood each of the website terms of service and privacy policy and that I agree to be bound by them.